Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1887-04-06
HEPBURN OF IOWA.
An Eloquent Tribute 10 the 100000
Union Soldiers Who Marched
TO Death.
Only 10000 People Would Have Shared in
the Pension Bill-And Only $4,370,-
600 Required to Pay Them.
The Contrast with the Mexican Soldiers
A Withering Analysis OF
Bragg.
IFrom the Iowa state Register.l

Colonel Hepburn replied ts his nelghbprs,
when he received such cordial welcome
home at Clarinda, Iowa, was one Of pecul-
lar grace and power, AMI one which is
worthy to be printed in every free minded
and fair dealing paper in the land. In no
other speech or paper has the cruelty of tine
.::,sieS =: sion .yeto, the Justice Of the provisions
=. Usrsns me oMi, the debt Of lopor owed by the
t. IL S. " -. IL - ,n,,a VA faeis 20 ~
benefited by the Till, been so clearly and
powerfully set forth as in this inn romptu
speech Of this great defender Of the Union
soldiers. in talking to his own neighbours
| 1t Is safe to say that this speech will Q the
one which the Democratic party will have
to meet In the campaigns in the different
States, when it shall attempt to Justify
the action of Cleveland rs demanded of
him by the solid South AID the cold
blooded money kings OF the North. The
old Union soldiers, wher, yer they shall be
as this speech shall come TO them, will
thank God for Pete Hepburn.
After a beautiful and loving tribute to
Iowa. his homo, and its people, his neigh.
bors for nearly his whole lie. ,he Colenef
said:
fheie ale matters that would like to talk
about. but fearing that some might regard tn IN
improper upon an occasion like this b cause of
seeming partisanship, will omit them. can
| and that is. that the President 0f these United
| States, in my humble judsme mt, in honesty Of
purpose, perhaps has mistaken tho temper Of
tho people when he classihes those with you
and our Chairman from '6i to IS MS paupers and
mendicants. 1t is mistake no less marked and
certain than those other bitter words uttered by
our whilom comrades when they wero classified
- vagahonds, As thieves az perurers, IS the
scum Of the earth The battle SCARED old he
roes Of the Rebellion, totterng toward the grave
have done nothing to deserve such charaeteriza-
ton as that Sometimes l have tho rght
that there might have been a misleading Of the
Executive mind that was in harmony with hon.
| est purpose. 1rcmember that al tho great Jour
| mails Of this land are to-day declaiinng against
| the claims and the rights to recognition Il the
old veteran but l remember, my comrades.
that In 81 that same class OF journals printed
IN the great metropolitan centers, the centsrs
Of wealth: were not those that upheld the
hands OF Abraham Lincoln in the earlier part
OF the war The capital OF this nation like the
capital Of every other notion, then was coward.
X ~ IL now is inean Cheers and applause.
THESE men whose sem iments arc Voiced by
the great metropolitan press forget the then
situation. They were menaced by a separation
OF our territory into two hCsti,o nations
tions il erected that must be in the very nat are
OF things constantly ut There could
have been no peace between the United States
and the Confederate States here W. re such
| differences OF sentiment such differences OF
purpose, there were such wars Of ideas, that
| they would have manifested themselves in
wars more disastrous than tho wars OF the
Roses or the Thirty Years war tLat devastated
Europe. The Confederate States with slavery
20 an institution, and the United States with
| the y-lovingsprinciple that We had could
not have been ut peace. Tie result would ha o
been constant carnage, that constant destruc.
| tion Of wealth, that constant interference with
| accumulation that would then have sent the
| now rich to the poorhouse.
The old veteran saved them from the loor-
houses, In their days OF DISTRESS they forget il
| and are not willing now to save the old veteran
drawing This picture. The nsn-who was man
twenty-five years ago and abreast of the thought
Of his time, knows the absolute impossibility
| 1t would have been to have had two governments,
one resting upon the corner store Of liberty
| and the other resting upon tho corners stone OF
| human slavery, existing side by side In con
| dttion OF peace and amity. / have thought
| ing into the activities OF life how-faii to ap.
preciate the situation OF twenty Ave years a-o.
You young gentlemen have seen nothing around
| you during all of your few years OF expo rience
rave those conditions that result from peace,
| prosperity. and plenty. You know nothing
Of the conditions of twenty-five years ago Since
| more than doubled our population. since that
| period We have trebled our manufacturing and
| withdrawing possibilities; we have more
| than quadrupled the circulating medium we
have since that time multiplied by five times
| the railways OF the country; we have more than
doubled the commerce Of the country; We have
more than quadrupled the internal commerce
| OF the country. You know nothing about that,
and perhaps you have but faint recollections Of
| what the war cost,
You may not know that Of the men that
| marched to the 'front.' 81, o. 0 Of them were shot
| to death on the battlefield; that $4,000 OF them
died in hospitals OF wounds received; that 20
| QUO Of them were starved to death in the prison
| pens Of tho South that "a, o. of them died from
| accident, were drowned, died from sunstroke,
disappeared; that 235,o1o died in the hospitals
| while their names were still upon tho army
| rolls. great army Of 4l0, ,Oo9 men that went to
the front and never came back. You have for.
gotten this il you ever knew it. Think OF what
! . multitude OF menl There have never been SO
many votes cast in any election in the State OF
| Iowa; there are not 30 many voters In the state
Of Iowa to-day as in this army of the dead
Could they be called back and formed into bat
| tle-line formed into marching column, divid
into three arms Of the service infantry, caval-
1y: and ,, artillery; !; mount the cavalry, furnish
sons. give to zach that camp and garrison
eQuipages aud those army trains needed to
and start it from Davenport on the march when
the vanguard reached the city OF Council Bluffs
the rear guard would still be looking from the
bluffs into the Mississippi River. That was the
humber Of men that died-that were our com.
rades. Can 1t be possiblep would say it to the
President. II could. can it be possible that Of
| cent. and more could be destroyed, and the bal
| ancs escape unscathed? They may have es-
capped the mark Of bullet: but how is il possi.
| BILE. all undergoing the Same fatigues. the same
perils, the same vicissitudes, one strong man il
| stricken down and the others not somewhat af-
fscted sEpreciably int IT. at physical const,scton
to say nothing OF those that languished In the
prison-pen. Tvsenty six Of Page Countv's boys
| loy 0lu0 luO0tQ8 anna tho DOTrot6 OF Andcr-
sUnville young. stalwart. vigorous men when
they went within those fatal. fearful gates: you
| can select them to-day among the mon OF their
from the horrors OF the situation into which
they were thrust; and yet, perhaps, not one Of
them, under the pension laws a. they now exist
| was referred to by the gent,enien who preceded
me was not the serious thing that many have
Il has been ascertsinei by returns made from
| . little more than half Of the counties in t,e
United States that nearly ,OOl men in those
houses. It was therefore estimnted that 1000
| men were in the poor houses OF the land. TLis
| dependent pension bill was intended to cover
| those cases. cases OF men honorably dis
charged, who from disease were totally un-
| able to earn support 1t was estimated that,
| perhaps. there would be 1900 mo o; so tn {
60.OO in round numbers was the t,tal number
| that the Commissioner OF Pension and the
Committee Of Invalid Pensions in the House
expected would be beneGciaries under that act,
| 80 that the bill would cost the Government ali
told q little less than four and three fourths
million dollars annually, tho cost gradually
any @neI D
less he 10 dependent upon his manual labor for
support and 10 totally incapable Of earning 9
support. 1t was that class Of men we were try
ing to provide for. It is that class Of men that
the metropolitan press has said shall not be
provided for, at the instance OF the wealth Of
structed South. There was no question or
principle involved in this except IL be princi-
pie OF patriotism.
The solid vote that the Mexican pension bill
received, and the approval 1t received 1t the
hands OF the Executive. met every constitution
al question that is involved In the other bill
Under the Mexican reDsion bill six aud three.
fourths millions are estimated TO be annually
necessary in the way OF appropriation. But
there ia a wonderful difference ia the locality
in It's distribution. Under the frat bill II 10
north Of Mason & Dixons line whore the money
viii be expended under the other bill more
than three-fourths OF IL will to exp psndsd south
Of that line These two bills ran eide by aide
through tbs Ho 90. In thcT passage one was
suppressed to be dep rndsnt rpon the other. TIE
North paid the price OF putting three men south
Of Mason md Dixdns liue on the pension roll
un 'er tho Mexican pension bill foy each one
that ii sccurci The Norsb. OF the 01Gn Who
have bean engaged in rae Indian wars pFsvto0s
70 tile war OF the IT b Hon. uJuge than nine.
tsnths Of them caxne tfDsn The sIsse Eta&oG.
6laty.n Thousand Lncuwore sn4age1 II thess
wars. the snr Qua ip3in1 warn. Tyjpy ~ the NOR
iena, war All Of tasin cave s, hi ttas pexStri.
peted IT, the EiGeshAwk ssey, xoae aaidsass h
he 10 ceitsd wsss thss u 70 carried "a n ths
Qkakn fx4a